Masks outdoors, a 9pm to 5am curfew and exercise limited to an hour: Everything you need to know about the new NSW restrictions in south and western Sydney
- NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced new restrictions for Greater Sydney
- Masks outdoors, a curfew and exercise for an hour are among the changes
NSW has announced strict new lockdown rules to combat spread in the current outbreak, after 642 cases of community transmission were announced.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced the current lockdown would be extended to the end of September.
From 12.01am Monday, August 23, a number of new restrictions would come into force in LGAs deemed ‘areas of concern’.
A curfew from 9pm to 5am will be imposed in western Sydney’s 12 local government areas of concern from next Monday. Only authorised workers, medical care or emergencies will be exempted.
People in these areas will also be limited to one hour of exercise, and NSW Police will be given the power to lock down entire apartment blocks due to Covid-19 cases.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced the current lockdown in Greater Sydney would be extended to the end of September
Masks will also be mandated at all times across NSW, both indoors and outdoors, from Monday.
‘Our concern is that when people are walking past a group of people or accidentally bumping into people that that can cause that fleeting contact, it can cause transmission,’ Ms Berejiklian said.
Garden centres, office supplies, hardware and building supplies, and put supply outlets will close except for click-and-collect.
Exams and other education will all move online, not including the HSC.
‘Clearly, two fundamental thing shifted this week in New South Wales, the first was the sudden escalation of cases, and secondly the feedback from police about a handful of people flagrantly disregarding the rules.’
Additional workplace restrictions will also be introduced for authorised workers and workplaces in the LGAs of concern.
Childcare workers and disability support workers who live or work in those LGAs must have their first vaccination dose by 30 August.
Authorised workers who work outside their LGA of concern are only permitted to work if rapid antigen testing is implemented at their work-site, or they have had their first vaccination dose by 30 August.
From Saturday, 28 August, authorised workers from the LGAs of concern are required to carry a permit from Service NSW declaring that they are an authorised worker and cannot work from home.
From the same date, anyone entering an LGA of concern for the purposes of work must carry a worker permit issued by Service NSW.